Cooperation with Fish-Man Island!
"Here it is"
Dane followed Vidal to a very familiar place. He and his fellow countrymen had come out of here yesterday morning—the prison inside the base!
"Open the door."
At some point, Vidal's smile vanished, and he coldly gave orders to the marines guarding the area.
"Yes!"
Two marines nervously took out their keys and opened the thick prison iron gate. Vidal walked in silently, while Dane, whose face was pale, seemed to have guessed something and followed him in with a trembling pupil.
The interior remained dimly lit, and although there was a light overhead every ten meters or so, it still felt very oppressive.
The cells on both sides were empty at this moment, perhaps because they had all been sent to Impel Down.
"I told you before, those who agree to stay and be at my command will leave here, those who don't agree will stay."
Vidal led Dane to the outermost cell, the one that had previously imprisoned a group of Fish-Man. His voice was low and chilling, filled with a stern tone.
I mean what I say!
Behind him, through the cold bars, Dane saw four familiar Fish-Man corpses lying side by side. His pupils dilated in shock, shrinking to almost nothing in an instant, and his hands trembled slightly.
How could that be!
He clearly saw them jump into the dark sea with his own eyes, how did Vidal manage to bring them back?!
"You might think that letting them go out of pity is for their own good, but now I'm telling you, you're harming them; you're sending them to their deaths."
With his hands behind his back and without turning his head, Vidal continued, "Do you understand now? You're the one who killed them, because you had every opportunity and ability to stop them from leaving, right?"
"."
Dane clenched his fists tightly in anguish, remaining silent, but his eyes were filled with regret and anger—anger not directed at Vidal before him, but at himself.
"Remember this, I hate it when people break their promises, and I hate it even more when people are ungrateful."
As he spoke, Vidal opened the cell door with his fingers and went inside, then casually made himself a comfortable chair next to the four corpses and sat down.
"Come in."
Dane was taken aback, but he gritted his teeth and went in, standing opposite Vidal and on the other side of the four corpses.
"Next, I'll tell you about the missions your Fish-Man Special Forces will be carrying out from now on. Listen carefully." Vidal didn't look at Dane's expression, but instead stared at the corpses in front of him as he spoke his thoughts.
"Your task is to take turns patrolling 1,000 meters underwater off the coast of the Sabaody Archipelago, keeping an eye on all ships traveling to and from Fish-Man Island. I will give you a list of key targets in advance, and you should report back as soon as you spot any."
"Of course, I'll do other things if needed, understand?"
"Understood," Dane replied sadly, closing his eyes.
At that moment, Vidal looked up at the other person, a smirk playing on his lips.
"In addition, according to the cooperation agreement I reached with King Neptune, from now on, if any Fish-Man or mermaid is found to be missing or even kidnapped on Fish-Man Island, they will contact me immediately."
"Then I will inform you to keep an eye out and intercept Fish-Man who have escaped, and send them back. If the target is a pirate ship or a slave ship, you are allowed to sink it and rescue the Fish-Man!"
"Real!!"
Dane, who had been feeling depressed and in pain due to self-blame and regret, suddenly looked up upon hearing this, his eyes widening in surprise as he looked at Vidal.
I have no interest in lying to you.
Vidal's face broke into a gentle smile once again.
"You should know all too well how curious Fish-Men are about the world at sea, but you also know all too well how dangerous it is, even if it doesn't sound pleasant."
"But the fact is that the current external environment is very unfriendly to you Fish-Men, so we can cooperate with Fish-Man Island to prevent tragedies from happening as much as possible, although we can only intercept the Fish-Men on the Sabaody side."
"Moreover, this matter clearly requires the help of more Fish-Men, after all, the sea is vast. However, you should remember that I said before that I would try my best to exchange for more Fish-Man slaves from the Celestial Dragons in the future, and these people will be incorporated into your team."
His words, each one like a stimulant, injected Dane's heart, making him increasingly excited and elated, his gaze towards Dane like that of a pilgrim.
This Fish-Man never imagined that there would be a human in the world who cared so much for the Fish-Man Race, and that the other party wasn't just thinking about it or saying it, but actually taking action!
"So, by letting these four people go, you not only caused their deaths, but also hindered the efficiency of this mission, resulting in us losing four manpower!" Vidal naturally uttered some shameless remarks, completely shifting the blame onto the other party.
Fortunately Dane willingly took the blame and wholeheartedly agreed with these words, because he felt that, just as Vidal had said before, he did have the opportunity and ability to stop Barnes and his men last night!
At this moment, the burly Fish-Man with silver skin, dressed in Marine Uniform, pounded his chest in extreme frustration, and swore fiercely, "From now on, anyone who dares to run away again! Even if I break their legs, I will keep them here!"
"I hope you keep your word and don't disappoint me again." Vidal nodded in satisfaction, thinking to himself that the boy was teachable, and then pointed to the four Fish-Man corpses in front of him.
"Take them back later and show them to the other Fish-Men. Consider it a warning. Also, tell them what they'll be doing from now on, so they'll behave themselves as marines here and save more of their fellow Fish-Man Island!"
"Yes!!" Dane responded loudly.
"By the way, 'Fish-Man Special Forces' doesn't sound good. From now on, let's call them 'Sea Spirit Special Forces'."
After saying this, Vidal stood up, patted the other man on the shoulder, turned and left the cell first, walking out of the prison, leaving the other man and the four bodies alone for a while, while he himself returned to his office, as he hadn't finished dealing with today's affairs yet.
"Base Commander, this is the World Economy News Paper, it just arrived. You're on the front page again!"
Suddenly, just as he sat down in his chair and reached for the pen on his desk, his secretary, Lieutenant Isoka, walked in carrying a thick, still-warm newspaper.
"Not surprising."
Vidal smiled, his hand reaching for the pen casually taking the newspaper instead. He then expertly unfolded it and looked at it. Sure enough, the front page headline read: 'Future Marine Admiral! Admiral Candidate' Ryokugyu 'Officially Appointed!'
Although the headline was printed in bold black font and was quite large, the main content didn't really contain much information. It just introduced his basic information, his previous achievements and experiences, and the significance of Admiral Candidate. It also boasted about its own newspaper, since they were the ones who first came up with the nickname "Ryokugyu."
What surprised him most was the title of the second page. Judging from the fact that Isoka had only mentioned the front page headline, the secretary probably hadn't turned the page to see the rest of the content.
[The world's greatest musician! Forrest Vidal!]
The text uses the certification of the Holy Land Mary Geoise as its biggest selling point, praising his compositions "The Bible Future," "The Giant Fortress," and "The God's Wrath" to an extreme degree. It claims that these three pieces have been designated as the exclusive music of Mary Geoise, Marineford, and Enies Lobby, respectively, and are played every morning. Finally, it calls them the greatest musical works of the millennium.
What's going on?
Vidal looked at the newspaper with a puzzled expression, but it was a good thing for him, a pleasant surprise.